Time Expert: I am the time expert and I know that we have 31
seconds of
fuel remaining!

Space Expert: I am the space expert and I know that we can travel
another
1 million miles in 31 seconds!

Aztecala: What can we do, oh Pozxter the Wise?

Pozxter: My built-in computer shows that we can find fuel on that
planet.
(Points outside spaceship. A slide of Earth can be projected on a
screen
for the audience to see.) It is called Earth by the people who live
there.
We will have to search for fuel.

Leader 1: Remember we must not harm one thing or we will lose our
space driver’s license.

Leader 2: Even though we will be invisible, if our power goes, we
will become visible. We must look like these earthlings if we are to not
frighten them.

Leader 3: Pozxter, can you get us some pictures of these earthlings
on
our screen?

(Various pictures of people in the different classes are shown on the
screen. The aliens are frightened by how scary they are.)

Leader 1: Lucky that we saw them in advance. They are very
scary.

Aztecala: Scientists_please make us look like the Earthlings.

Scientist 1: Are you sure you want to do this?

Artist: Maybe it is better to run out of fuel!

Pozxter: There!! (Pozxter lifts his arms; special sound effects;
most of
the students take off "ugly" alien masks and costumes-they are transformed
into Earthlings. They continue to wear something which identifies them as
“aliens”, i.e., green pointed has, silver shirts, big red dots on the back
of their costumes, etc.) Remember with those "hats" on you will not be
visible. You will go to different places on the planet. Gather as much
information as you can while you are there.

Book Writer: Oh yes! I will write a book on this planet Earth.

Captain: We will take three small ships and travel to . . .

Pozxter: Just make sure you stay on land. Much of this planet is
covered with water-and you know how dangerous that is for us!

Food Grower: My great grandmother said her sister fell into a pond
on a
purple planet! She just disappeared! I would never touch water.
Aztecala: Of course no one would be stupid enough to touch water!
Let's
go! (The issue of not touching water is filled with tension and could
be
developed to heighten dramatic tension.) Pozxter: Everyone! Pick up a fuel collector on your way onto the
ship. Keep your fuel collector on at all times! When they are full return
to the ship!
Narrator: (Can be one person at a microphone, a small group, or
entire class doing choral speaking.) The three groups of aliens
traveled in their small ships to three different places on the planet
Earth. One group landed in a small town on the island of Puerto Rico in
the Caribbean. Another group landed in the outskirts of Moscow in Russia.
The third group landed in Ghana in a small village near the city of
Tamale. Let us go to Africa and find out how this group is doing.
(During this talk, slides of maps are projected on the screen so the
audience can see where the space ships land. If a camera is available
students or teachers can make the slides, using slide film, and maps from
books or the large maps usually found in classrooms.)

(The
aliens have landed outside an elementary school in Ghana. All students are
in school uniforms and the teacher is teaching the class in English, the
official language of Ghana.)

Leader 1: Look! They are all wearing the same costumes, like us!

Leader 2: Our clothes are not costumes!

Teacher: One group has created a play based on the Ananse story,
Why
Spiders Live in Dark Corners. Now we will watch them act it out.

Sample Lesson Plan #4

Drama Mode

Role Playing

Purpose

To experience some of the problems resulting from changes which take place in a culture.

Activities

The students have studied Ghana for at least six weeks before this activity takes place. They have heard one Ananse story, learned one dance and can count from 1-10 in the Twi language. They are aware of the great culture of the Ashanti people and the ext
ent of their influence in Africa at one time. They are aware of the fact that there are tribal chiefs presently in Ghana who have lost much of their power to the new form of government. The students have created some drawings and crafts typical of Ghana.
They are told that the person visiting the class is playing the role of a chief, but they are asked to believe it for the sake of exploring some new ideas. (Students will accept this not only because it is fun, but because they do it all the time with tel
evision.)

A visiting artist from Ghana is hired to dress as and play the part of a modern chief from a village in Ghana. The chief is visiting the class to plead for help. “My culture is fading. There are too many changes. What can I do?” (This could be video taped
.)

The students and teacher(s) will become engaged in a conversation. The teacher can best serve the situation by helping to direct questions or making statements which cause students to think in a new direction. For example the classroom teacher might play
devil’s advocate and say, “You should accept facts. Times have changed. You no longer can make the laws.” The teacher could also say, “Is there not a place where you can go with your people and not be bothered by the new ways?”

After approximately thirty minutes the person in role should leave, change into “western” clothes and come back in as himself to discuss what happened. It is this period of reflection which will be most important. (If the situation was video taped, the vi
deo tape can be used to review what happened, and will increase the impact of the event.)

(Another way to do this activity is to have the class become members of an Ashanti village in Ghana. A person in role enters as the government Minister of Transportation to discuss the movement of the village because of the new “super-highway” coming thro
ugh.)